Nevada Honors Father of the Mother Lode

On his way to seek his fortune in the California gold fields in 1849, Abner Blackburn struck pay dirt sooner than expected in a dusty gulch of western Nevada’s high desert.

But the 22-year-old pioneer couldn’t resist the lure of California and pushed on, never dreaming his discovery would lead to one of the world’s greatest bonanzas.

Blackburn’s find 150 years ago was the first known gold discovery in what is now the nation’s top gold-producing state. It touched off an eastbound gold rush of California miners and paved the way for the discovery of one of the richest mineral troves ever, an event that would change the face of Nevada and the West.

The 150th anniversary of Blackburn’s find is being celebrated this weekend in the historic town of Dayton, 12 miles east of Carson City.

“The celebration will recognize an event that was a crucial building block in one of the world’s greatest mining stories,” said Ron James, state historic preservation officer. “His discovery led to developments that had international importance.”

The Nevada Gold Sesquicentennial Celebration will feature a parade, living-history demonstrations, a Victorian ball and Gov. Kenny Guinn’s dedication of a monument commemorating Blackburn’s discovery.

Historians are unsure of the exact date of the discovery, but think it occurred in May or June 1849 as the experienced frontiersman was heading from Salt Lake City to Sacramento.

Some historians think Blackburn’s discovery in Gold Canyon ranks second only to James Marshall’s Jan. 24, 1848, discovery of gold at Coloma, Calif., in terms of the most important 19th-century mineral finds in the West.

What Blackburn didn’t know at the time was that the gold he found came from a massive, underground pocket of gold and silver now known as the Comstock Lode, located several miles up the canyon from Dayton.

The lode, which wasn’t discovered until 1859, has yielded 8 million ounces of gold and 200 million ounces of silver, worth $8 billion in today’s dollars.

It spawned nearby Virginia City, one of the West’s richest, most famous, mining towns. And it put Nevada in the international spotlight, luring tens of thousands of gold-crazed adventurers from around the world.

The wealth it generated--none of it realized by Blackburn--went to help finance the Union cause during the Civil War and to build San Francisco.

“The rush [to Nevada] didn’t begin full-fledged until 1860, but where did it start? It was Abner Blackburn,” State Archivist Guy Rocha said. “He laid the groundwork for a major worldwide event by finding the first evidence of the Comstock’s riches.”

James, author of the “The Roar and the Silence,” a book on Virginia City’s past, said Blackburn’s find would have been insignificant had it not been for the Comstock’s subsequent discovery.

“But his discovery generated interest in Nevada mining and helped spur Nevada’s permanent settlement and you have to give him credit,” he said.

Not all historians think Blackburn was the first to discover gold in Nevada, however.

The late Nevada Historical Society director, John Townley, was outspoken in his support of William Prows, who claimed he found gold in Dayton in 1848 while en route from Sacramento to Salt Lake City.

Noting that Blackburn made his discovery claim in memoirs written in the 1890s, Townley wrote: “Blackburn could have written these reminiscences to refute Prows’ [earlier] story . . . and claim credit for himself.”

Will Bagley, author of “Frontiersman: Abner Blackburn’s Narrative,” acknowledged the issue has stirred controversy over the years but said most historians now give the nod to Blackburn.

“I firmly believe Prows’ story is cooked up,” said Bagley, a Salt Lake City historian. “The historical evidence backs up Blackburn’s claim and discredits Prows.”

Ironically, Blackburn and Prows were members of the same Mormon unit that served in the Mexican War of 1846-48.

Prospecting with a bread pan and butcher knife, Blackburn found gold near Dayton on one of his many trips across the West in search of adventure and riches.

He settled down in 1852 in San Bernardino, Calif., where he became a constable, farmer and miner. He married and fathered nine children.

Blackburn failed to cash in on the Comstock boom and spent much of his life in poverty. He died in 1904 in San Bernardino.

“If we had known of the rich mines higher up the canyon [from Dayton] the outcome would be different. We mist [sic] the great Bonanza,” he wrote.

Blackburn’s only known direct descendant, a great-great granddaughter from Prescott, Ariz., doesn’t plan to attend the Dayton event. But great-grand-niece Amy Hoffman of Sacramento does.

“Obviously, we’re extremely pleased and proud that he’s finally being recognized for his gold discovery in Nevada,” she said.